Pea sheller



J. c. HARDIE PEA SHELLER Jan; 18, 1927. Y 1,615,081

Filed July 1, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Patented Jan. 18, 1927.

UNITED STATES JOHN C. HARDTE, OF HELENA, MONTANA.

PEA srmmin'n.

Application filed July 1, 1925. Serial No. 40,842.

This invention relates to pea shellers and has for its object the provision of a sim le and inexpensive device by the use of which peas will be removed from their pods automatically and expeditiously without loss of the peas. The invention seeks to provide an apparatus which may be easily set up on or removed from a fixed support and operatedto deliver the peas and the pods through separate outlets. The invention also seeks to provide a device for the stated purpose 111 which the working parts will be enclosed so that they will be protected from damage and injury to the operator avoided. Other objects of the invention will appear inc1- dentally in the course of the following description, and the invention resides 1n certain novel features which will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is an elevation of my improved pea sheller set up for use;

Fig. 2 is an end view of the same; Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 9., and

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of fn carrying out the invention, I employ a bracket or standard 1 which may be of any approved design and may be given a more or less ornamental configuration. This bracketincludes an upper jaw 2 and a lower jaw 3 adapted to as above and below a table or other fixe support 4, a clamping screw 5 being mounted in the lower jaw an adapted to be turned home against the table so as to firmly secure the device in working position. The bracket may be easily removed from the support by loosening the clamping screw in an obvious manner.

Carried b the bracket or standard 1 and preferably ormed integral therewith is a housing member 6 having flat ends and hav-' ing an arcuate side provided about midway its height with an opening or slot 7 extending from end to end thereof. Upon the side wall of the housing member along the upper edge of the slot or opening 7 is a shield or guard 8 which extends outwardly and downwardly from the wall of the housing member, as clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 4, wh1le from the lower edge of the said opening or slot extends a chute 9 which has upstanding walls or-flanges 10 along its edge.- Referring more particularly to Fig. 1,-it w ll be noted that the walls 10 extend substantially "shown in the drawin longitudinally of thehousing member from the ends thereof toward the center and then project downwardly and outwardly in sharplyconverging relation so that a spout 11 is produced through which the shelled peas may pass and by which they will be irect'ed'into a suitable receptacle placed upon the fixed support below the end of the spout. The lower wall or bottom of the housing member 6 is arcuate or partly cylindrical in cross section and. extends inwardly between the end walls beyond the upper end of the spout 11, as shown at 12 in Fig. 4, whereby it will follow closely the lower shelling roller 13 and prevent the peas drop ping onto said roller and being crushed thereby or being caught between the roller and the wall of the housing. This extension or guard 12 also constitutes a prolongation of the wall of the chute 11 so that the peas will be directed into the chute with certainty. At one end of the housing member is an exit 14 which provides for the escape of the uices which would otherwise tend to accumulate within the housing and interfere with the successful operation of the device Extending downwardly and outwardly from the rear edge of the housing member bottom is a plate 15 over which the pods are discharged, as will hereinafter more fully appear.

Referring now more particularly to Fig. 2, it will be noted that the end walls of the housing member 6 have a straight vertical edge 16 whlch lslocated 1n a vertical plane ap-' proximately midway between the side edges of the standard 1'. This straight edge 16 extends to the top of the housing member but terminates short of the bottom thereof and from the lower end of said vertical edge extends a horizontal straight edge 17 A mating housing member 18 having fiat end walls and an arcuate back wall is fitted to the edges 16 and 17 of the housing member 6, as shown in Fig. 2 and indicated in Fig. 4, so that, when the two housingmemhers are secured together, a substantially elliptical casing is provided to enclose the working parts. The two housing members aresecured together by cotter pins or similar fasteners 19 inserted throu h mating lugs 20 and 21 provided upon 1'. e top and the ends of the two housing members, as clearly The lower edge of the back wall of the ousing member 18 ter minates short ofthe lower edges of the end walls thereof to provide a discharge opening or slot 22 immediately at the upper end of the discharge plate through which the pods will pas onto the said plate.

Mating notches are provided in the meeting edges of the housing members to form bearings for trunnions 23 which constitute the terminals of shafts 24 extending through the housing and carrying the shelling rollers. One of the trunnions 23 is extended beyond the end of the housing and has a crank or other handle 24 secured thereto so that the rollers may be'easily rotated when -cured upon their respective shafts.

the device is to operate. The crank 24.- is secured to the shaft of the lower shelling roller and the two rollers are operatively connected by meshing gears 25 and 26 se- Each roller comprises a metallic central body 27 and a covering of soft rubber 28, the elastic coverings 28 meeting at the center of the housing approximately in the horizontal plane of the opening 7 and being adapted to engage the pea pods so as to compress the same and eject the peas.

In the use of the device, it has been found desirable to subject the peas to a slight heating before inserting them into the machine. To effect this heating, a quantity of the eas is placed in a vessel and covered with boi ing water, the immersion being permitted to continue for a period of from ten to twenty seconds. This slight heating seems to convert the juices of the peas partly into a jellylike state so that the peas themselves are made slippery and will easily slip along the pods as the latter are engaged 'by and between the rollers. A longer heating tends to cause adhesion between the peas and the pods so that the peas do not separate from the pods but are crushed with them as the pods are passed between the rollers. The slightly heated pea pods are inserted through the slot or opening 7 with the stem ends foremost and are engaged in the bight of the rollers, the rollers being set in motion through the proper manipulation of the crank handle 24, as will be understood. As the pea pods are engaged by the rotating rollers, they will be drawn between the rollers and compressed, the compressing action forcing the peas toward the rear ends of the pods and causing the pods to split, whereupon the peas will be ejected. The guard 8 will prevent the peas flying in all directions of the space formed between and as a result the peas will be caught by the flanges l0 and directed into the spout 11 through which they will pass to the receptacle provided for them. The pods will, of

course, continue through the machine and will drop onto the plate 15 and slide or roll down the same. The juices which are pressed from the pods will, of course, fiow out through the exit 14 and will, therefore, be prevented from accumulating within the housing.

It will be noted that I have provided an exceedingly simple and compact device by the use of which peas may be rapidly removed from their pods and collected in a suitable receptacle. The device will take up very little room and will separate the peas effectually from the pods Without crushing the eas and causing loss of the same.

aving thus described the invention, I claim:

1. A pea sheller comprising companion rollers disposed one above the other, a housing enclosing the rollers and fitting snugly about the upper and lower portions of the respective rollers, and having an opening in a side opposite and extending the full length the rollers, the portion of the housing bordering upon the lower side of the opening fitting closely to the roller, a chute projectlng from the lower side of the opening and terminating in a centrally arranged spout, the walls at the lower end of the chute being oppositely inclined at the sides of the spout, and an outwardly and downwardly inclined guard projecting from the upper side of the opening and overhanging the said chute.

2. A pea sheller comprising upper and lower rollers, a two-part housing enclosing the rollers which are journaled therebetween and having openings in opposite sides, the one for the discharge of the hulls and the other for the feed of the pods and the delivery of the peas, a plate leading from the lower portion of thedischarge opening for the hulls to pass over, a chute leading from the lower side of the combined feed and de livery opening and terminating in a centrally disposed spout, and a guard overhanging the chute and in line with the upper side of the said combined feed and delivery opening.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

JOHN C. HARDIE. [L. 5.] 

